Comic-Con: Person of Interest Embraces Sci-Fi Label

Person of Interest kicked off its third Comic-Con panel with an irreverent sizzle reel that mixed clips from the show with news footage depicting the recent firestorm surrounding PRISM, the global data surveillance program operated by the National Security Agency. The parallels between PRISM and the show's Machine has not gone unnoticed in media articles about privacy concerns, though executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman believe their machine is more efficient than PRISM.

As usual, Nolan and Plageman weren't very forthcoming about what viewers can expect in Season 3, though the promotion of Sarah Shahi (Shaw) and Amy Acker (Root) to series regulars (Acker's promotion was announced at the panel) certainly means we'll be seeing more of their characters. It was also confirmed that Paige Turco's Zoe and Enrico Colantoni's Elias will be returning. Reece (Jim Caviezel) and Carter's (Taraji Henson) complex relationship will also be highlighted.

During the Q & A, a fan wondered why the show wasn't (supposedly) embraced as being truly sci-fi. Nolan said that he's always thought of Person of Interest as a genre show and added that he has never worked on something nor does he intend to ever work on anything that wouldn't be at home at Comic-Con. He went on later to explain that in his mind, the show has always been about how artificial intelligence will "slip into the world unnoticed" and become part of our lives before we even realize it has happened. Michael Emerson noted that how poignant the portrayal of the Machine's sentience was this season, that it became this "pitiable, orphaned" character. Nolan assured the audience that going forward, the series would continue to explore and strengthen its sci-fi and "cyberpunk" identity.